Gas-generator



1. W. LEE.

GAS QENERATOR. APPLICATION FILED ocr. 3I., I9I7.

i9 '20 gg rIIIIIIIMIIIIIII III ,s

I lllllmllllllllll-llllllv lllrllllllll [lll/lll; IIlnm-IIII Vllllll/l.

111111111rlllllllllllllllil 1 Y J. W, LEE.

GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. s1, I9I1.

Patented sept. 6,1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

'1. W. LEE. GAsGENEnAToR. APPLICATION FIL-ED OCT. 31.1917.

Patentedsept. 6,1921;

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

lll

J. W. LEE.

GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 31, 1 917.

1,389,670-, V Pamdspn 6,1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

JOSEPH W.LEE,10F

Application inea october 31,7'1917.k seriai No. 199,552.

To all 'whom t may concern c Be it known that 'Ldosiirri WV.V Lion, a ycitizen of the United States, residing 'at River Forest, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gras-Generators, 0f which the following is a specification.

' My inventionrelates tov devices for vaporizing kerosene or other forms of petroleum distillates, so as t0 convert tliesame into a gas, and has for its primary object the pro- 'vision of a device of this character adapted for converting kerosene, for. example, by vaporizing the same, and effectinga Vcoinplete amount of airinto a fuel gas having all, of the necessary'prop'erties which assure a perfect combustion.,l l Y Another objectfof the invention istopro-` vide new and improved device of this characterwhich will be simple inconstruction, which will minimize the consumption of' fuel oil, and which will operate with a higher degree of eiiiciencythan other `known devices of the above character.l i ,y

Another object V,of theinvention is topron vide novel means for automatically regulating the amount of gas` generated-bygoverning the amount of gas consumed.

Anotherobj ect ofthe invention is to provide a new and improved oil vaporizing de'- vice vin which the amount of fuel o il'admitted to .the"vaporizing` chamberI is auto f matically regulated, so thatfasubstantially constant volume of oily will be maintained in said chamber throughout the entire` operation of the device. v

It has been found that'a more complete and satisfactory conversionvof petroleum distillates maybe accomplished byirst vaporizing the oil and then'subjecting'the vapor to a higher degree off heat. Accordingly, my invention contemplates y the provision 'of .a new and improved device for carrying Vout this process of converting oil'into vapor.

this connection theinventionhas for a further and more specific object to provide novel' means for increasing the temperature of said vapor prior to its introduction into the mixingv chamber, vwherein it is mixed with the air, so that complete vaporizntion and thorough mixing of vapor andair will result, as will be hereinafter described.

Another object of the invention kto provide a novel" construction and 'arrangement Specificatonof Letters Patent.

mixture of said vapor with theproper l RIVEFOREST, ILLIiiois, AssiGNoii. 'ro LEE Ges. GENERATOR confirmait, vii ooieroiea'rioir or ILLINOIS. Y f

Ges-GENERATOR. 'Y

Patented Sept. 6,` 192.1.

of` the vapor and,air ducts whereby the air, introduced into the mixing chamber is brouglitinto direct contact withv the vapor,n .so as to effect thedesired complete mixing .for z heating or analogous purposes for which the gas may be used.

y .Another object of the invention is to, provide a novel 4valve construction in which any binding of the valve .due yto the contraction of the valve casing when thevalve is closed `is eliminated. A

yThe invention'has for further objectsa novel arrangement, construction and combination of parts hereinafter described Vand claimed, for carrying outl the abovestated objects, and such other objectsas may appear in the following description.

, Tlie'invention is illustrated iii certain prefferred embodiments in the accompanying drawings, wherein likeV characters 'of reference designate corresponding. parts,y and wherein:

l, Figure l is a plan view of my improved gas generating device, illustrated in connection with a two-plate burner, and-is of the type designed particularly to be applied to the fire boxof a cool: stove; o

Fig. y2 is a'vertical sectional view taken on line .2l- 2,ofI Fig. l; y Fig. 3 ,is a cross-section taken on line ofgFig'. l, looking.. inthe direction indi# cated byl the arrows;

AFiga` is a sectional plan taken on line of Fig. 2, and illustrating the preferred .construction of tlie air inlet and vmixing lchamber employed in my invention; i v 5 ,is an end view, partly insecticm of Vthe device shown iiiFigs. l and 2, andillustrating the means employed for increasinf., thel'temperature of the oil vapor before its introduction into the mixing chamber;` p Figs. 6. and 7 aieviews similar to Figs. 1 and 2, illustrating a modified form of ,the device; A, v

' FigfS lis an end view, partlyin sectioinof theconstruction illustrated in Figs and 7 l` Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of the preferred form of needle valve employed for controlling the'introduction of vapor into ythe ymining chamber of the device; and '.Fig. 10. is aside' view in elevation, illusjtratingvthe kapplication of my invention :t0

ioo

ii o

Yduction into the mixing chamber.

the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine.

Referring first to IFigs. 1 to 5, inclusive, of the drawings, in these figures the invention is illustrated in connection with a burner which is designed particularly to be applied to the fire box of'a cookystove, for

example. This particular form of burner is utilized merely for illustrating the principle of operation, and it will therefore be understood that I do not wish to limit myself to this particular use, as the device could obviously, with slight modifications, be employed for the purpose of generating gas for any of the well-known burners or other devices adapted to use gas of this character.

In the drawings, 10 designates a mixing chamber comprising a manifold'll and an inlet passage-way 12,. The inlet passageway preferably communicates with the manifold near the center thereof, as indicated at 13, so as to provide an. equal distribution of the gas among the'several burners, as will be hereinafter described. The outer end of the member 12 is formed with a return or goose-neck bend 14 having an air inlet orifice 15 communicating Vwith the inlet passage 12 through a `port 16.

The air passage is preferably formed in this manner so as to cause the air entering the passage-way 12 to intersect the path of travel of the vapor introduced into said passagefrom the vapor injector 17. The injector 17 extends through the wall of the inlet chamber adjacent the bend 14, andis'arranged to project a jet of vapor into the inlet passage 12 with the proper velocity to in-v duce the currents of air, illustrated in Fig. v

4 by the semi-feathered arrows, to be drawn into the inlet passage 12 in the proper proportions to provide the desired 'mixture-v The air and vapor, after being thoroughly mixed in this manner, enters the manifold 11 and passes throughthe discharge openings 18, 18, to the chambers 19, 19 formed bythe burner plates 20, 20, which preferably fit over upstanding flanges `21 on the upper side of the manifold. The burner plates20, 20,

are provided withopenings, preferably slitsV designated at 22, through which the gas es- Y capes to the point where it may be ignited.y

One of theprincipal ideas embodied in my invention 1s to first vaporize the kerosene,

andthen subject the vapor to a higher degree of heat immediately prior to its intron This process has ,been found to produce the best results forthe reason that the complete con- `version of the oil into vapor is assured before it is mixed with the air, and in this way the impurities, such as carbon, for example, are eliminated. `In carrying yout this process, I preferably provide a vaporizing vessel 23, which is adapted to contain apredetermined quantity of oil 24 to be vaporized, and is'heated on its under surface by means ofthe pilotburner 25, which isd provided with a plurality of small perforations 26 communicating with the interior of the manifold 1.1. The vaporizing vessel is preferably spherical in shape, and consists of an upper half 27 anda lower half 28 which are provided withv suitable flanges and secured together' as indicated at 29. 30 designates a gasket of suitable material, interposed between these attaching flanges so as to make a tight joint and thereby preventany jof the vapor generated in said vessel from escaping between'the flanges. The lowerjhalfof the vessel 28 isfpreferarbly provided with a boss 31 which has a threaded engagement with a vertically extending feed pipe 32, so that the vaporizing vessel is supported lin its operative position. TheV upper end o'f pipe 32 is closed by a plug 33A formed with a port 34 and with a concave surface 35, providing va suitable seat for the valve 36. The valve is provided with a` stem which is heldin a vertical position bymeans of aguide 37 formed on the inner surface ofi the upper half of said vessel. 38 designates a float of any suitable construction, preferably a hollow sphere, which is securedy to 'the valve stem 39 toV maintainA the desired, a spring of vthe valve stem Vto( assist in'opening the valve, although ythis will ordinarily be funnecessary,pas the pressure of the gas generated in thejvaporizing vessel will 'be sufficient to counterbalance the oil pressure in the pipe32 against the `under surface of the valve 36.

l 41 vdesignates a duet leading'from the upper portion of the vaporizing vessel to the Avapor injector V17.

The vapor injector consists of a 'casing surroundinga needlevalve 42, andispreferably provided with an enlarged space or pressure chamber 43 (Fig.

to be introduced guide 37 so asto i 9) which converges as, indicated l A,atV 44 toward the discharge opening 45, the taper of duct 44 corresponding to the taper 46 off the needle valvel 42. The needle valve is preferably made of material having "la slightly greater coefficient of" expansion than the casing 17, so as to' prevent any binding i, 1 125 of th i, needledueto the-contraction of the casing when said valve is closed. Y

For the purposeof increasing the temperature ofthe vaporat the point where it is introducedinto the mixing chamber, 'I preferably provide' a burner v47 which is threaded into the manifold, as indicated at 48, and provided With a series of openings 49, adapted to direct a flame against the portion 50 of the duct 41.

Operation: The device is started by heating the vaporizing vessel With a torch or by inserting Waste saturated With oil into the cup-shaped pilot burner 25, so as to start the generation of vapor in said vessel. The needle valve 42 is then opened, Which permits the vapor to pass 'into the mixing chamber and mix With the air drawn into said chamber through the goose-neck air passage 14. The vapor and air then pass into the manifold and escape through the apertures 26 of the pilot burner, projecting a flame against the under surface of the vaporizing vessel. Y The lower half of said vaporizing vessel, being convex, exposes al large area of said vessel to the flames of the pilot burner, and in this manner provides for a rapid generation of vapor. A portion only of the gas is consumed by the pilot burner. The rest kWill pass through the discharge openings 18 to the point or points Where it is to be used, such for example, as the burners 20, illustrated in Figs. 1 `to 5, inclusive.

The oil is introduced into the vaporizing vessel under pressure. The float valve 38 Will rise and fall, so as to maintain a substantially constant volume of oil in said vessel. The vapor is preferably discharged into duct 41 from the upper half of the vaporizing vessel, Vand this prevents any unvaporized oil or foreign matter, such asscale or sediment, for example, from being carried out along With the vapor in a manner to interfere with the proper operation of tho valve.

In Figs. 6 to 8,1inclusive, I have shownA a modified form of the device in which the gas is generated in a tube 51 which is supported above a priming cup 52 on the side of the manifold 11a. The tube is adapted to contain an absorbent material 53, which may be saturated with oil for the purpose of starting the generation of vapor in substantially the same manner as described in connection with Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive. The manifold 11a in this modified construction is preferably provided With a series of small apertures 54, adapted to direct a plurality of small flames against one side of the tubo 51, in substantially the same manner as is described in connection with the operation of the pilot burner illustrated iii Figs. 1 to 5. In other respects, this device is substantially the same as that described in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, `and the parts thereof have been designated With corresponding reference characters.V a

In Fig. 10 I have shown a vaporizing and mixing device constructed in accordance with my invention, suitable for use as the engine manifold 55. The operation of this device Will be the same as that set forth Vin connection with the description of Fi s.

1 to 5, inclusive, and need not be again escribed in this connection.

I claim: y

1. In a gas generator of the character described, the combination of a substantially spherical vaporizing vessel, a valve, a substantially spherical float arranged in said vaporizing vessel and connected to said valve so as to maintain a substantially constant volume of oil in said vessel, a burner adapted to apply heat to said vessel, and a duct communicating with said vessel above the normal level of the oil and adapted to supply said burner with fuel.

2. In a gas generator of the character described, the combination of a substantially spherical vaporizing vessel, means for mainditions in said vessel, a mixing chamber, a

duct communicating with the upper portion of said vessel adapted to conduct the vapor therefrom into said mixing chamber, and a burner adapted to apply heat to said oil.

` 3; In a gas generator of the character described, the combination of a substantially spherical vaporizing vessel, means for maintaining a substantially constant volume of oil in said vessel, a mixing chamber, a duct communicating with the upper portion of said vessel adapted to conduct the vapor therefrom into said mixing chamber Wherein it is thoroughly mixed with air, and a burner communicating With said mixing chlamber and adapted to apply heat to said oi 4. A gas generator of the character de-l zing vessel adapted to be heated by one of said burners, means Within the vessel for maintaining a substantially Vconstant; vol-l ume of `oil therein, a duct communicatingV With said vaporizing vessel and adapted to conduct vapor therefrom to the mixing chamber, and a burner communicating Withr said manifold and adapted to heat said vapor adjacent the point Where it is intro-l duced into said mixing chamber.

JOSEPH W. 

